Quote Of The Day
by EpicThoth3
Summary: Welcome to Quote Of The Day, my compilation of short, unrelated Phineas and Ferb one-shots. Each chapter will be based off of a different quote that I've heard. And, before you ask, yes, I am taking requests. Just give me a quote that you like (and who said it - but don't use quotes from the TV show) and I'll try to make a story out of Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, I know this story wasn't mentioned in my profile, but inspiration struck, and I jotted this chapter down in under twenty minutes. And it was so good that I decided to publish it. I apologize if you were expecting a different story. But this one officially overrides all my rules, because I intend to never complete it. So, welcome to Quote Of The Day, my version of a one-shot compilation. Each one-shot (which you can expect to be rather short) will be based on a different quote that I like, and will basically be my version of a Phineas and Ferb story based off of that quote. And the disclaimer is in the summary, so I don't need to worry about it. Now, without further ado, I give you the first chapter of my one-shot series.**

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**Quote Of The Day:**_Carpe diem (Originally from a Latin poem by Quintus Horatius Flaccus, or Horace)_

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Never has anyone lived up to their motto better than the ones who lived on Maple Drive. Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Candace, and Perry, to be precise. And, coincidentally, they all had the same motto. _Carpe diem._

Carpe diem. Latin for seize the day. Every morning, Phineas would wake up, gulp down breakfast, and go outside, where he would sit under the tree in his backyard. There, inspiration would strike him, and he would decide how he was going to seize the day. One day, it would be building a rollercoaster, and the next, he would fly through space. Every day was different, and every day was just as good as the last. And the next. And each day was amazing, in its own unique way.

Ferb, like Phineas, would also wake up each morning, gulp down breakfast, and go outside, where he'd sit under the tree in his backyard, next to his brother Phineas. Once Phineas decided how to seize the day, Ferb would be his right-hand man. He was always one step ahead of his brother, handing him the necessary blueprints before he would have to ask, or having the necessary contraptions already built. Ferb's version of seizing the day was to make sure that Phineas could do the same. Because everyone knew that if Phineas could seize the day, it was going to be the best day ever.

Isabella woke up each morning to her pet chihuahua's barks. She would get dressed in either her Fireside Girl uniform or her pink dress, along with the matching undershirt, belt, and bow. The next thing she would do is go over to Phineas' backyard, and ask, in the most adorable way, what he was doing. Of course, by then inspiration had almost always struck the boy, and he knew exactly what he was going to do. Like Ferb, it was Isabella's goal to make sure Phineas could seize the day, although her motivation for doing so was completely different. Isabella's motivation was centered around Phineas' one weakness: love. Or, more specifically, his lack of ability to notice that Isabella had a crush on him, no matter how obvious she tried to make it. To her, seizing the day was trying to convince Phineas that she was the perfect girl for him.

Candace was an entirely different matter. She obsessed over everything she got involved in. As a result, seizing the day, to her, was doing the things she loved. Whether or not she succeeded (and even though she never did), busting Phineas and Ferb was one of those things. Having a relationship with Jeremy was another. Ducky Momo was yet a third of those obsessions. To Candace, the "perfectly seized day" would involve a Ducky Momo marathon, a date with Jeremy, and a busted Phineas and Ferb. The main reason she obsessed over these things was that her luck always ran against her, most easily shown through the fact that she has never yet busted her brothers. But she would never quit trying. No, giving up was not Candace's way, especially when it involved the things she loved.

Perry was the pet platypus of Phineas and Ferb. He was also a secret agent. Every day, he would mysteriously disappear in the morning, to arrive home safely later in the afternoon. During those hours is when Perry did what he could to seize the day. Above all, Perry loved two things: his owners (Phineas and Ferb), and being a secret agent. Oh, how he would love to put his hat on and reveal his true identity to Phineas and Ferb! The adventures they would share together! But he tried that once, and now knew more than ever that he had to keep those lives separate. These days, he would wince every time he put his hat on, knowing he was leaving Phineas and Ferb, and was unable to join them in their amazing adventures. But he would never regret it. No, the platypus knew better than that. His life during the day: getting trapped, uncovering an evil scheme, then foiling it - that was seizing the day. Especially when you take into consideration that most platypuses (Platypi? Platypeople?) don't do much. And the rest of his life was spent with Phineas and Ferb. To Perry, everything was perfect. And, consequently, every day was seized.

_Carpe diem._ All five of them lived by that motto, those words. And nobody - _nobody_ - could live up to those two words better than them. No matter what, these people would do everything in their power to seize the day. In sunshine, in rain, in love, in school, in sickness, in health; no matter what got in their way, these five would seize the day. And nobody could tell them otherwise.

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**Did you really expect anything else for the first quote? You know, I'll gladly take requests. Just give me a quote, and I'll see what I can do. *Clarification* I'm not using quotes from Phineas and Ferb. I'm taking other quotes and applying them to the show. Don't feel bad if I don't get to your suggestion for a while, though. Oh, and don't expect daily updates. I know it's called Quote Of The Day, but I'm not that good at updating. I will update as frequently as possible, though. So, what do you think? I really want to know. And I'll leave you with three Rs this time. Read, review, and request.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome to Quote Of The Day. In a short moment, you will begin reading chapter 2 of this one-shot compilation. But first, I must clarify. The quotes I use for each chapter aren't going to be from Phineas and Ferb. I will be taking other quotes and applying them to Phineas and Ferb. Carpe diem qualifies because it predates the TV show by a couple millenia. Now that I've made that clear, you may begin reading.**

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**Quote Of The Day:** _Not all those who wander are lost. (J.R.R. Tolkien)_

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"Whatcha doin'?" Isabella asked, opening the fence gate.

"Just looking," replied Phineas, pacing around the backyard.

"For what?" Isabella asked, eager to join in.

"I don't know," said Phineas.

"So why are you looking, then?"

"Because I can."

With that, Phineas walked past Isabella and out the fence gate. Still curious, Isabella followed him.

She silently followed Phineas through the streets of Danville, all the way to the forest on the edge of town. Without hesitating for a moment, Phineas walked right into the unexplored land. Isabella faltered for a moment, staring at the ominous trees that lay ahead, but soon chased after her crush.

After a long silence, Isabella finally spoke again.

"What are you looking for, Phineas?"

"Anything," the triangle-headed boy replied. "And everything. And nothing. I'm looking because I can."

"I don't get it," Isabella said, confused. "To me, it just looks like we're wandering around Danville Forest with no rhyme or reason."

"Well, you'd be right," explained Phineas. "That's exactly what I'm doing."

"So... we're lost?" Isabella asked, nervously.

"I never said that," said Phineas. "But do you want to help me look?"

"Yeah, if I knew what we were looking for."

"But if I told you what we're looking for, we wouldn't need to look for it anymore," Phineas said cryptically.

"Why not? Is it missing?"

"That's one way of putting it."

"Well then, what are we looking for?" Isabella asked, quickly growing frustrated with Phineas.

"I don't know," he replied. "I'm looking for what hasn't been found yet."

"So... you don't know what you're looking for?" Isabella guessed, starting to see what Phineas was doing.

"Nope."

"And the only reason you're looking is because there's something to be found?"

"Yep."

"Have you found anything?"

"It wouldn't make a difference if I did, because I'd still be looking."

"So, we're lost in Danville Forest, looking for something that we'll never find."

"I never said we were lost."

"Well why are we wandering aimlessly, then?"

"Because we don't know what we're looking for, or where to look."

Isabella stopped and thought about it for a minute. Then she made her decision.

"Mind if I help you look?"

"Go ahead," Phineas replied. "It's always better with a friend."

And the two continued to wander aimlessly through Danville Forest. Not lost, but rather looking. Not scared, but rather content. Not missing, but rather found. After all, not all those who wander are lost.

Phineas and Isabella were just trying to go where no one has ever gone before. To find what no one has ever found before. To see what no one has ever seen before.

They never reached those goals. Because whenever they did find something, they moved on, looking for something new.

And it was good.

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**Boom! Chapter 2 complete! There you go. Now, that quote wasn't from Phineas and Ferb. But that doesn't mean I'm not taking requests. Oh, no. In fact, I'm requesting requests. I want to know what quotes you like (that aren't from Phineas and Ferb). So please, give me your quote. Your words of wisdom, or laughter, or inspiration, or whatever. So please, read, review, and request.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Can I just say one thing? Wow. I've posted two chapters and, as I write this, have no less then seventeen quotes requested by different people. So please, don't worry if I haven't gotten to your quote yet. I am posting these chapters in the order that I write them; not the order they are requested. Sometimes it takes me a while to come up with a good idea for a requested quote. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about your requested quote(s). So here we go.**

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**Quote Of The Day:** _Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today. (Mark Twain)_

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"Ferb, I know what we're going to do today!"

Every day, Phineas would say those words. And every day, they meant something different. If you were to walk into their backyard on any given day and hear those words, without any other clues as to what they were doing, you were in for a treat. You'd have a better chance finding a needle in a haystack than guessing what Phineas and Ferb are going to do today. The possibilities are endless.

One day, they would build a rollercoaster. The next, you'd find the Eiffel Tower in their backyard. On yet a third day, they'd be playing a board game, where Danville is the board. Another day, it would be a bike race. On another day, a shrinking device. A time machine. A waterslide. A truck stop. A cell phone. A pirate ship. There was no telling what was going to happen on any day. Because there was nothing that couldn't.

In much the same way, you could hear the evil jingle of Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, and have absolutely no idea what was going to happen next. Perry would fly there every day, and every day, he would find himself in a different trap, facing a different scheme, with a different backstory. One day, Doofenshmirtz built a switch-place-inator to promote his latest product: Get Back Hair. Another day, Perry found himself trapped in a high chair while Doofenshmirtz put buffets out of business with his all-you-can-eat-inator. There was yet another day where Perry was trapped in a cat costume, and Doofenshmirtz wanted to humiliate his brother during national etiquette week with his rude-inator. A snow globe trap. An accelerate-inator. Being raised by ocelots. The shrink-inator. The make-a-mountain-out-of-a-molehill-inator. Wearing hand-me-up dresses. There was no telling what was going to happen on any day. Because there was nothing that couldn't.

In Phineas' backyard, or Doofenshmirtz's apartment, one might say that anything can happen. It is more accurate to say that there is nothing that can't. After all, the only thing that's impossible is impossibility. And that is the difference between saying that anything is possible, and nothing is impossible.

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**Well, that was quick. Most of these chapters will be. Ah, well. That's life. So continue to read, review, and request. The more you can do that, the more I can update. I'm aiming for one update a day with this (I think I may have set my standards a little high). Look, I don't care how many requests I get. Eventually, I will get to them all. I promise. So read. Review. And request. That is all.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, before I begin, I would like to place some new rules on requesting quotes.**

**First, request only one quote per review. Please. I'm getting requests faster than I can write them down. If that pace continues, I'll never get to half the quotes. So, only one quote per review. Please.**

**Second, when you request, please cite the source. By source, I mean who said the quote (or where). Yes, anonymous is a person. But I don't want to get in trouble for not mentioning the source of the quote.**

**That is all. Here's the next chapter.**

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**Quote Of The Day:** _Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship. (Oscar Wilde)_

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It is a well known fact that Isabella has a crush on Phineas. The fact is so well known that at times, it seems like Phineas is the only one who doesn't know. That Phineas is the only one who thinks Isabella will forever be his best friend, and never anything more. That couldn't be farther from the truth.

There is no friendship between Phineas and Isabella. It's just that neither of them have the courage to call it anything else. In their minds, there was never any friendship between them. There was passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship. They knew that from the moment they met, six years ago.

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_It was raining outside. Not pouring so hard that you had to either wear a raincoat or stay in, but rather the rain was coming down so softly that you could walk outside and it wouldn't bother you._

_The rain matched Isabella's feelings at the time. She was still young then, barely five years old, but she was smart enough to know what it meant when they told her that her father had just died. Granted, Isabella barely knew her father, but the simple fact that he was gone, and wasn't coming back, still made her cry. She was crying softly, though. Like the rain outside._

_The first thing Isabella and her mom did after her daddy died (sorry, her mom preferred the term went to heaven) was move to Danville, so they could start a new life. So they didn't need to reminisce over the old one._

_The first day in their new home, Isabella looked out the window, into the rain. _

_Across the street, she saw another family getting out of their car. A mother and two children - a boy, about Isabella's age, and a girl, about ten.  
Without thinking, she walked across the street, into the rain, to introduce herself. After all, her mother did tell her to make friends._

_"Hi," she said, walking up to the young boy._

_"Go away," he replied. "I'm sad."_

_Isabella was slightly surprised at the boy's hostility. But she was not one to give up easily._

_"So, umm..." she continued. "My name's Isabella. I'm new here, and-"_

_The other boy cut her off. "Please," he said. "Go away. My daddy just went to heaven, and I'm sad."_

_Once again, Isabella was caught off guard. It was less than a week ago the her own dad had died, and the first person she met since then was undergoing the same ordeal._

_But instead of leaving this boy alone, Isabella persisted, in a small voice. "My daddy's in heaven, too."_

_Now, the boy looked up at Isabella for the first time. "Really?"_

_"Really," Isabella confirmed, tearing up again. Not that anyone could notice; the rain was still coming down._

_"He's been there for less than a week. That's why we came here."_

_The other boy stopped an stared for a long time. Then, for what must have been the first time in a long time, he smiled._

_"I'm Phineas," he said, formally extending a hand. "Let's be friends."_

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It was right then that the two children did, indeed, become friends. But there was never any friendship between the two. There was passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship. Friendship couldn't even come close to describing the bond the two children formed that day. A bond strong enough to withstand any test of time.

Sure, Phineas and Isabella called it friendship. But in reality, it was much, much more.

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**Please read, review, and request. I got nothin' else to say.**


	5. Chapter 5

**No author's note. Just read.**

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**Quote Of The Day:** _The math is not wrong! (Charles Eppes, Numb3rs)_

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"I am telling you," Baljeet screamed. "The math is not wrong!"

"Well, why isn't it working, then?" asked a frustrated Phineas.

"I do not know!" exclaimed Baljeet, furious. "But it is not my fault!"

"It has to be!" Phineas yelled. "Ferb and I did everything perfectly!"

"Me too!" Baljeet hollered. "I even triple-checked my work thirty times over. That means I checked my math ninety times!"

"I can multiply, too, you know," retorted Phineas. "But if you did it right, how come this portal that's supposed to rip a hole through the space-time continuum to get us to Meap's planet is ripping a hole in the space-time continuum and taking us to another dimension instead?"

"I do not know!" Baljeet screamed again. "I did not even add a fourth dimension to my graphs!"

He looked down at his papers again, eager to show Phineas his unflawed quartic equations. Instead, he blushed a bright red.

"My bad," he said, pulling a crayon out of his pocket and making a correction to his graph. "I did do the math wrong."

He swapped out the fourth-dimension axis with the z-axis on the contraption itself, punched in a few numbers, and pressed fire. Finally, a portal opened to the pink planet they were heading for.

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**Well, that was short. Most of them will be. Read, review, and request.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Quote Of The Day:** _Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light. (Helen Keller)_

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It was one of those days where Phineas, Ferb, and the rest of the gang decided to put their life in a computer's hands. Earlier that summer, they built an extremely difficult maze, but today, they had the idea to build a computer-controlled one, that would learn as it goes, and make it all the harder for the young children.

The elevator slowly, yet purposefully, ascended to the top of the maze, where everyone stepped off. Then the door closed and locked behind them, leaving them to wander the maze together (even though it was agreed that they would have another contest - Phineas and Isabella versus Buford, Baljeet, and Ferb). Unfortunately, this was just another of Phineas and Ferb's inventions that would be messed with by Doofenshmirtz.

The evil scientist was working on his latest invention - a vanish-inator (he argued that, although it served the same purpose as the disintegrate-inator, the vaporize-inator, and many other similar inators, there was a difference in precisely how it worked, and therefore would be used on different things). There was one drawback to this inator, though. The amount of power it would take up.

As soon as the evil scientist flipped the switch, the entire Tri-State Area turned black, including the maze in Phineas and Ferb's backyard. All the power went out. Again.

"Umm... Phineas?" Isabella asked. "Is the computer allowed to shut the lights in here off?"

"It shouldn't be able to," replied Phineas. "But I'm not entirely sure."

"Can you check?"

"Yeah. After the escape tower incident Ferb and I decided to add a bunch of failsafes into this model."

Then Phineas called out into the darkness. "Computer? Engage program check, permissive activities. Access code 47223552."

There was no response.

"Computer?" Phineas yelled again. "Engage program check, permissive activities. Access code 47223552."

Once again, there was no response.

"Why isn't it answering?" asked Isabella, beginning to worry.

"I don't know," Phineas responded. "Either it's activated soundproofing in the walls, which it hasn't, since we can hear each other, or it's choosing to ignore us, which it can't, because we programmed it so that it's required to listen to us."

"So what happened?"

"I don't know," answered Phineas. "I really don't."

A slap could be heard as Phineas banged his hand against a nearby wall.

"Darn it!" he screamed again. "Why isn't it answering?"

"Why isn't what answering?" Isabella asked.

"The computer, again," said Phineas. "It should open up the software files when I do a slap scan onto any solid surface. It's another failsafe we added."

Then Phineas came to a realization. "Unless the power's out."

That scared Isabella.

"To power this thing, we had to hardwire it into the underground power lines," Phineas explained. "If those power lines went out, so would this maze."

Even though Isabella was scared to death, at least now she knew why.

"Yes," Phineas concluded. "That must be it. The power's out."

"So now we have to find our way through this maze without being able to see?" Isabella asked, frightened.

"Pretty much," Phineas summed up. "And we have to hope that Ferb, Buford, and Baljeet can make it out, too. Why did I ever split up with him?"

"So you could prove you were better at mazes than he was," Isabella explained, hoping to hide her own motives for doing so (which had a lot more to do with romance than it did personal ability).

"Oh, yeah," said Phineas, chuckling at the memory. "Guess it didn't quite work out that way, huh?"

"Yeah," Isabella agreed, pessimistically. "Now we may be trapped in here forever."

"Alone, maybe," replied Phineas.

"What?"

"Well, if I were doing this alone I'd never make it out," said Phineas. "Even if the lights were on."

"So you're saying," Isabella began, but trailed off before she said something she might regret.

"What I'm saying is that I'd rather have you by my side than the lights," answered Phineas. "I feel a whole lot safer like that."

The butterflies in Isabella's stomach made themselves noticeable again.

"After all," Phineas concluded. "It's better to walk with a friend in the dark than alone in the light."

_Of course_, thought Isabella, somewhat dejected. _Right when I begin to hope._

"Yeah," she agreed, taking Phineas' hand. Phineas returned the gesture with equal warmth and enthusiasm, making Isabella wonder if friendship was all that was going on in that head of his.

_Maybe_, she hoped. _One day. You never know what's going on in that mind of his._

And the two children ventured off into the black maze, unsure of what they would find, but glad that they could count on each other to stand by their back, be on their side, through thick and thin, high and low, rough and smooth. They were ready to explore the unknown not because of their own courage, but the other's. If it wasn't love, it was as close as you could get with the term friendship. Because, right then, Isabella and Phineas relied solely on each other to get them out safely. Because, especially in those moments, it is better to have a friend by your side in the dark than it is no friend other than the lightbulbs overhead.

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**47223552 (the number Phineas used) isn't just a random number, by the way. I challenge you to crack the code and figure out what it means. Be warned, the code isn't easy. That aside, please read, review, and request.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Yeah, I know I haven't been updating once a day. Honestly, I'm considering myself lucky to have been able to do it in the past, seeing as how I only have wifi for about an hour a day. Seriously. If you look at the statistics, it really is incredible I can update as often as I do. Hey, I try. All in all, though, the next chapter is officially posted.**

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**Quote Of The Day:** _Can a man be brave when he's afraid?  
That's the only time a man can be brave. (Game of Thrones)_

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Today, the gang decided to take another journey into someone's head, and this time, by popular request, the head under scrutiny would be Isabella's.

"Don't worry," Irving had whispered to her before the journey begun. "I'll put up a firewall around Phineasland."

Isabella wasn't sure whether to be thankful towards Irving or creeped out, seeing as he knew not only of her crush on Phineas (which wasn't that surprising), but her daydreams, and the fact that she referred to them as Phineasland. Honestly, Isabella felt a unique blend of both.

Fortunately, Irving held true to his word, and Phineas saw none of Isabella's frequent fantasies while he was inside her head. Unfortunately, Isabella's id was not included in those fantasies, and it wasn't long before the creature found the party (after all, Isabella's head was a small place without Phineas).

"Irving," Phineas called. "Get us out of here!"

"I'm working on it," the boy replied.

A few moments later, Baljeet disappeared from Isabella's head. Buford and Ferb followed soon after. But another minute passed, and neither Phineas nor Isabella (the only two left inside her head) disappeared.

"Irving?" Phineas called again. "Why aren't we disappearing?"

"I'm having some technical difficulties," Irving responded, and indeed he was, for he couldn't remove Phineas without first removing the barrier he had placed around Phineasland, and he couldn't remove Isabella without first removing Phineas. What's more, a random beam of light had recently struck the machine, and Irving was having trouble keeping it all together, much less worry about Phineas and Isabella.

"Well fix it, then!" Phineas yelled.

"I'm trying! It's too hard," Irving screamed back, the fear in his voice unmistakeable.

"What's worse, the communication might be terminated any-"

All of a sudden, Irving's voice disappeared, leaving Phineas and Isabella cowering in a corner while the id slowly approached them. The two children realized they wouldn't be getting much help from the outside world now.

"Phineas," Isabella said, hugging her crush as she spoke. "I'm scared."

"Me too," answered Phineas, shivering. "But we have to be brave now."

"But how can we be so brave if we're so afraid?" asked Isabella.

Phineas looked at Isabella awkwardly. "But isn't that what bravery is? Standing up to your fears?"

Isabella couldn't think of an appropriate answer to that. "Umm..."

"If you're not afraid, how can you possibly be brave?" Phineas asked Isabella.

Once again, the only sound to come out of Isabella's mouth was, "umm..."

"Don't get me wrong, Isabella," continued Phineas. "I'm scared too. I'm probably more scared than you are right now. But bravery, and I mean true bravery, is pushing those fears aside, and doing what you know you must."

Isabella seemed entranced by all this, as she was still only saying, "umm..."

But Phineas had nothing more to say, as he stepped forward, and looked in the face what Isabella had been to scared to even think of. So the girl focused on Phineas, and watched him take a stand, rather than watch the manifestation of her deepest fears.

_How can he be so brave when he's so afraid?_ she asked herself. But she answered her own question, and once again was reminded of one of the reasons she loved him so much.

_You can only be as brave as you are afraid, _she thought._ Only in fear does bravery ever show._

And Isabella sat back, dreamily watching Phineas conquer, or at the very least, try to conquer, Isabella's id.

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**Yeah, okay, that one had a lot of action very quickly. Deal with it. Oh, and please read, review, and request.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, one and all! I haven't updated this in a while, huh? Yeah, let's chalk that up to minor writer's block. But, with this chapter, I officially introduce my new policy: updates on weekends only. Don't worry, most weeks that means two or three (maybe four or five) chapters of this at once. That said, enjoy this short!**

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**Quote Of The Day:** _If you don't let her go right this moment, I will find you and I will kill you. (Bryan Mills, Taken)_

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Doofenshmirtz wasn't a mean man. Sure, his intentions were always evil, but he would never intentionally hurt anyone. He never even intentionally hurt Perry the Platypus. The evil scientist was sure that the secret agent would be able to handle whatever was thrown at him. Yes, even the sandpaper incident was completely unintentional.

But there was one exception to that statement. If anyone - anyone - touched his daughter.

You see, Heinz Doofenshmirtz was, above all, an overprotective parent. He would put his evil schemes aside to make sure his daughter, Vanessa, was 110% safe. Even if it meant embarrassing her. It was better, Heinz believed, than having, say, wild ocelots raise her. Or attack her, for that matter. It was his goal to make sure that Vanessa didn't have to undergo the childhood hardships that he himself had to. Doofenshmirtz believed it was better to be an overprotective parent than a... well, a parent like he had.

So you can imagine his fear when he got a phone call saying that it would cost him a million dollars to ever see his daughter alive again.

Before Doofenshmirtz even had the chance to say hello, the person at the other end spoke.

"If you want to see Vanessa alive again, you'd better do as I say."

Doofenshmirtz gasped. "Who are you?"

The reply came, cold, harsh, and final. "Let's just say that you were the mayor during my reign of terror. I'm just returning the favor, thank you very much."

The evil scientist didn't miss a beat. "You're welcome, Mr. Returning-The-Favor, but you see, I'm not the mayor. You must have me confused with my brother Roger."

"No," the voice answered firmly. "Heinz Doofenshmirtz, right?"

"Yeah..."

"You were most certainly the mayor in my reign of terror, thank you very much. Now, if you value your daughter's life one bit you will meet me in an hour in the dark alleyway behind City Hall with a million dollars."

"_Vanessa_!" Doofenshmirtz screamed, out of fear for his daughter.

"Yes," the cruel voice said, laughing evilly as it spoke. "I have your daughter, and you'd better do as I say, thank you very much."

With his daughter in danger, another part of Doofenshmirtz took over. The stupid evil scientist was no more, replaced by a stone-cold, overprotective, brave father that always took over in these situations.

He spoke into the phone with a voice so deep and with such menace that, no matter who was on the other end, he would have shivered.

"If you don't let her go right this moment," he said. "I will find you, and I will kill you."

Just then, the door opened, and Vanessa walked in.

"Hey, dad," she said, as if nothing were the matter.

Doofenshmirtz did a double take. Yes, Vanessa was most definitely there, stretched out over the couch, without a worry in the world. So the other man must have been... lying.

"Count yourself lucky this time," Doofenshmirtz said into the phone. Then he hung up, without waiting for a response.

The evil scientist breathed a sigh of relief. _I'm so glad she's safe_, he thought._ I don't know what I would do if anything happened to her._

Because, at heart, Doofenshmirtz was just an overprotective parent.

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**First question, how many of you read the quote and thought this episode would star Phineas and Isabella? Me too, then I realized this was a much better alternative - I can't see Phineas killing, or showing intent to kill, anyone. Even if Isabella's been kidnapped.**

**Second question, who was at the receiving end of the phone? You know, the guy talking to Doofenshmirtz? This should be an easy one...**

**Third, and finally, the answer to the question posed a few chapters back: what does 47223552 mean? Well, I'll tell you. If you look at a phone, you'll see letters under each number - A, B, and C under 2; D, E, and F under 3, and on and on. So, if you look carefully, you will see 4-I, 7-S, 2-A, 2-B, 3-E, 5-L, 5-L, 2-A. Therefore, 47223552 spells ****_Isabella. _****Boom! Cracked the code! Now, read, review, and request. You've got to know a quote of some kind that you want on this story.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I took one look at this quote, and immediately knew what it was going to be about. So I entered myself in Purpl3Pickl3's Oblivious Phin challenge, got a few questions cleared up, and posted this chapter - my official entry for that challenge. I hope all you wonderful readers enjoy. Because this quote is seriously awesome.**

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**Quote Of The Day:** _Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up as if nothing had happened. (Winston Churchill)_

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Phineas and Isabella were just friends. That's how it was in the beginning, is now, and forever will be. Or at least, that's what Phineas thinks.

Isabella, on the other hand, has had a crush on Phineas since the beginning, still has one now, and forever will have a crush on Phineas. The redheaded boy has yet to figure that out.

More than a few times, Phineas has come close to realizing it, only to shrug it off and move on. There was that time when Perry went missing, for example. Phineas, with the help of Isabella, did everything he could to find his missing platypus. And when they did find him, Isabella hugged Phineas, and only Phineas, while everyone else was hugging the platypus, or trying to. Of course, Phineas noticed that. But he pushed that information to the back of his mind, and more or less forgot about it. The truth was hugging him around the waist, but he hadn't noticed.

He didn't notice that Isabella wanted to kiss him at midnight on New Year's when she mentioned that tradition. He didn't notice that when they built the haunted house, Isabella was more scared when Phineas was in danger than when she was. He didn't notice how Isabella's one birthday wish was to spend time alone with him. It was rare for a day to go by where Phineas wasn't given at least one hint. But it would take a miracle for Phineas to notice. Even though it was ridiculously hard to miss.

After all, men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up as if nothing had happened. Phineas, without even realizing it, did that to an almost unachievable level. Without knowing it, Phineas accomplished the impossible every day in this aspect, too.

In particular, the summer solstice, when they traveled around the world, highlighted Phineas's impossibly oblivious mind. The first truth he could have stumbled over, hint he could have noticed, was when Isabella was reluctant to join him on the journey, before it even began. But only until she heard the word Paris. After that, there was no doubt in Isabella's mind - she was going to accompany Phineas to the City of Love. Subtle, yes, but noticeable nonetheless. Unless you were Phineas. He stumbled over the truth here, but, like every other time, shrugged it off.

Later that same day, the gang actually arrived in Paris. Phineas himself asked Isabella to go with him as they explored the City of Love. But did he ever acknowledge that he and Isabella were, you know, a boy, a girl, _alone_ in the City of Love, and that romance could have - no, _should have_ been a foregone conclusion? No. He refused to acknowledge that Paris could be the City of Love for even him, although he noticed that it could be a City of Love for Ferb, with Vanessa, and for Candace, with Jeremy. But no, Phineas turned away the possibility that Paris could be the City of Love for him as well, despite the fact that his girl was right there, walking next to him, holding his hand. Instead, Phineas wished that what every one called the City of Love would instead be the City of Airplane Parts. Paris, to Phineas, was what he hoped it would be, rather than what it was to everyone else.

Needless to say, Isabella was ticked at this. In one, last, desperate attempt, she sang a song to Phineas - no, _for_ Phineas. She told Phineas of all the wonderful and romantic things that could be done in Paris. Not only did Phineas stumble over the truth there, Isabella tripped him. But did Phineas notice? No, he picked himself up, brushed himself off, and looked to the road ahead, where giant plastic baguettes awaited.

If only he had turned his head, he would have seen Isabella. He would have seen the truth he stumbled over. But Phineas didn't even acknowledge that he stumbled over anything. Somehow, Phineas refused to admit that he had tripped over anything. Somehow, he was able to refuse that. If the boy turned his head just once, he would see a different path before him. A path of romance, of love, of Isabella. But the boy ignored this other path, this other side, and kept his eyes facing forward. And romance wasn't in front of him.

Eventually, their worldwide excursion got to the point where Phineas hit a dead end. He was stranded on a desert island with no means of escape, especially by sundown. And Isabella was there with him. The path in front of him was a dead end, and somehow, Phineas _still_ didn't see there was another one. He ran into a mountain that he couldn't climb, and ignored the path around it.

So, again, Isabella was ticked, to say the least. She almost dragged him down that path trying desperately to reassure him - _well that's not the Phineas Flynn that I fell in_ - but she caught herself at the last minute. Isabella was afraid that if she showed Phineas that path, he would turn it away, so instead of doing so, she helped Phineas climb the mountain, gave him the boost he needed.

It was Isabella's dream that Phineas would stumble over the truth one day, and, when he picked himself up, he would see this other path that lay before him. This path of romance, of love. That was Isabella's one wish. And it was the one thing that Phineas, for whatever reason, was unable to do. The one thing that appeared to remain impossible for a boy who could do the impossible.

Time and time again, the truth was right there in front of him, on a silver platter. And time and time again, he pushed that silver platter aside. Phineas was constantly stumbling over the truth. And he was constantly picking himself up, brushing himself off, and continuing as if nothing had happened.

But there was one exception. Neither Phineas nor Isabella knew it, but there was one exception. It was the day when they, quite literally, discovered a whole new world. The day neither of them could remember.

In the dying moments of that day, Isabella was shocked to learn that she was going to have her mind wiped. So she might as well make the most of it.

"Umm... Major Monogram?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"So, none of us are going to remember any of today?"

"That's right."

Isabella made her decision in a split second. She grabbed Phineas' shirt, pulled him over, leaned in, and kissed him on the lips. Now that, Phineas couldn't ignore. He hadn't _just_ stumbled over the truth. Nor did Isabella _just_ trip him. The truth stood up and smacked him across the face. He could no longer hide the fact that Isabella had a crush on him. She hadn't just shown Phineas the other path, she had shoved him down it.

But only for a moment did the boy realize the truth, as, despite his protests, the amnesia-inator hit him and everyone else. So the truth remained hidden, it's only purpose to be stumbled over. But most men, when they do stumble over the truth, pick themselves up as if nothing had happened.

And thus, Phineas and Isabella were just friends. That's how it was in the beginning, is now, and forever will be, as Phineas sees it. Because the truth - or at least, this truth - intends to remain hidden as long as possible. And, one day, it will be revealed again. But that day is not today.

Today, Phineas will stumble over the truth again, and again, he will pick himself up as if nothing had happened.

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**I'm sorry if you feel this story to be extremely repetitive. I'm kind of trying to hammer down a point here. Therefore, repetition is necessary (or so I've been told). But I believe I got the message across - Phineas is as oblivious as he appears, but eventually, Isabella will get through to him. It may - actually, it will take a while, but he'll get there in the end. If you would like to end Phineas's obliviousness, please read, review, and request. It's the only way. You must request a quote that has Phinbella written all over it. And you can't do that without reading and reviewing.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Yep. This is two chapters at once, so to clear confusion, go back and read chapter 9 if you haven't already. On a completely different note, I've been looking for a quote about this topic for a long time - since I started the story, even. I believe, with this chapter, I've finally found the right one. Enjoy!**

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**Quote Of The Day:** _I'd rather regret the things I've done than the things I haven't done. (Lucille Ball)_

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Candace Flynn had two amazing brothers. She would do almost anything that she could for them. But, according to Candace, her brothers, as incredible as they were, had one flaw: their pathological desire to build some crazy, impossible contraption, every single day.

Sure, Candace would partake in their endeavors every now and then. There was that small matter of getting fifty patches in one day, their journey around the world, and the time they built that giant unicycle after she had some ridiculous dream about having fun. But so many of her brothers' inventions were dangerous, and, although the chances were about as remote as a satellite crashing into the house or a herd of wild moose stampeding through the kitchen, it was definitely a possibility. It could always happen.

Like when their plane crashlanded, multiple times, when they circumnavigated the globe. Or when Phineas fell out of the haunted house. Or when the lawn gnomes started raining down on their beach party. Candace never - _never_ - wanted to see her brothers hurt. Her solution: to bust them.

If her brothers' inventions are so amazing, you ask, why does Candace try and bust them? Because if one of Phineas and Ferb's contraptions backfire, and someone got hurt, Candace would, for the rest of her life, regret not doing anything about it.

But what, then, happens when she busts them, and no one gets hurt? Would Candace regret that, too? The answer is yes. Yes she would. She would regret getting Phineas and Ferb sent off to military school. She would regret busting them when she next needed the impossible to be possible.

So, every day, Candace finds herself in a dilemma. Do nothing, and watch Phineas or someone else get hurt, or bust them, and save them from any potential injuries. No matter what Candace chooses, she would regret it later.

Almost every day, then, Candace chooses to bust her brothers. Why? It's simple. Candace would rather regret the things she did than the things she didn't. There's nothing more to it. Candace tries to bust her brothers, day after day, because she would rather regret doing that than not doing anything about her friends' injuries.

So, if you think about it, Candace owes the Mysterious Force a debt. It's giving her a third way out - try and fail to bust her brothers. Now, due to the Mysterious Force, Candace has no regrets.

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**And there you have it! My take on the motives behind Candace's near pathological desire to bust Phineas and Ferb. Quite appropriate, if I do say so myself. Now please, read, review, and request. No, no, it's okay! I don't mind!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Yikes! I forgot to update this last weekend. Sorry about that, folks! Allow me to make up for it. Now presenting chapter 11, where I have not one, but TWO quotes. You heard me. This chapter has TWO quotes. And just one story. Really, what happened is that these two quotes both fit the story so well, that I decided to use both. Enjoy!**

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**Quote Of The Day:** _Love lasts forever. (The Bible, 1 Cor 13)_

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**Quote Of The Day:** _Some friendships are so strong, they can even transcend lifetimes. (Avatar Roku, Avatar the Last Airbender)_

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I suppose you could say that the Ballad of Phinbella started in 27,000 B.C., when Isabellak first met Phinabunk. It was then that the oblivious inventor first met the cute girl across the street, and for the determined female, it was the start of a lifelong romance. Thus began a love too powerful for just one lifetime.

The next recorded instance of this romance was in China, in 1542. There, Phineas fell in love with Princess Isabella. But alas, the cute girl was out of the optimistic inventor's reach. After all, there was the whole princesses-can-only-marry-princes issue, and Phineas was no more than a commoner. Of course, that may or may not have changed once he trained under Master Perry, rescued Princess Isabella, and defeated Doofus-Khan. But still, the love remained too powerful for just one lifetime.

So it continued onto medieval England, when witches, spirits, and demons thrived. Phineas was working with Ferb-a-lot on a few potions when the Lady of the Puddle appeared to them in a puddle, and sent Isabelle the water sprite to guide them on a quest to the Cave of Ten Thousand Monsters. It's hard to tell if there was romance there - after all, one was a sprite and one was human. But regardless, the friendship remained strong enough, and transcended yet another lifetime.

The oblivious inventor and cute girl were still in England, although it was now the age of primitive science fiction. You know, back when you had to have an angry mob after you to be considered evil. At any rate, there was a scientist by the name of Dr. Phineastein, and a girl whose name remained Isabella. If anything, the romantic tension between the two had only increased since 27,000 B.C., and Isabella, though she tried to hide it, was still in love with the oblivious inventor - in this case, Dr. Phineastein.

It continued on to Panama, 1914. There, the famous duo of Ohio Flynn and Rhode Island Fletcher met Isabella. The friendship that immediately formed between Ohio Flynn and Isabella was tested multiple times in the ensuing adventure. A corn colossus, a man in a lab coat, and a dirty double-crosser all got in the way, but still, the friendship withheld. A bond like that was truly one of a kind. Any friendship with even half that strength could transcend lifetimes. Any love even half that powerful would last forever.

And now, we move on to the present day, where the oblivious inventor goes by the name of Phineas Flynn, and the cute girl from across the street is Isabella Garcia-Shapiro. Many things have changed since 27,000 B.C., but still, the love remains. The friendship remains. The bond between the two remains. And it shows no sign of ending any time soon. For all we know, this could still be just the beginning of the Ballad of Phinbella. With each generation, the bond only seems to get stronger. From the very start, there was a friendship between the two strong enough to transcend lifetimes. Almost 30,000 years of lifetimes. But in the long term, I'm sure, 30,000 years is nothing. 30,000 years is but a speck of eternity. And everybody knows that love lasts forever. Who knows how long this one will?

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**See? Two quotes, one answer. Am I a miracle worker or what?**

**(Audience: What.)**

**I said, am I a miracle worker or what?**

**(Audience: We heard you.)**

**Ah, well. Please, don't forget to read. Or review. Or request.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm going to apologize now to all those people who requested a quote that I haven't yet published. What I do is I start the document with a quote, add a line break, then just start typing. When it feels finished, then I post it. If it doesn't feel finished, I leave behind what I have and get back to it later until I can finish it. So, yeah, I'm sorry if I haven't gotten to your quote yet. I'm trying.**

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**Quote Of The Day: **_Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase. (Martin Luther King, Jr.)_

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There is a distinct difference between trust and faith. To trust someone is to believe what they have said. To have faith in someone is to believe what they will do. However, that's just the simplest way of pointing out the differences.

Trust has always been the easier of the two, if you think about it. Mostly because trust deals with what we actually know. We can trust someone's word. It means we believe what they say to be true. With trust, we're at the top of the staircase, looking down. Trust is whether or not we're looking down the right staircase.

Faith is a different matter entirely. In faith, you are at the bottom of the staircase, looking up. But you can't see the top. You don't know what will happen. If you have faith, you'll take the first step anyway. Because you believe.

Isabella trusted Phineas. That was undeniable. Every day, she would walk over to his house, trusting that he had something epic planned, and trusting that he would include her without a second thought. Isabella would believe anything and everything that he might say to be true. She would trust his inventions to work properly, and she would trust that Phineas could use them in a safe and fun manner.

But does Isabella have faith in Phineas? Faith has always been the harder of the two. Isabella has always asked Phineas to show her the whole staircase. Take, for example, their worldwide journey, on the summer solstice. Only when Isabella found out that they were stopping at Paris did Isabella hop on board. Only when Isabella saw the whole staircase did she join.

The same journey, however, provides good evidence to the opposite, as well. You could say that they tripped on the staircase, and ended up stranded on an island. The first thing Isabella did was give up. But when Phineas gave up, Isabella refused to let it happen.

"No," she said, although the statement sounded more like a question, a realization.

"What?" Phineas had asked in reply.

"No," Isabella repeated, more firmly this time. "You are not going to sit down and enjoy this beautiful sunset."

"I'm not?" came the inevitable question.

"You built a rollercoaster through downtown," Isabella continued, relentlessly assailing Phineas with a list of all the great things he did. "You made giant treehouse robots. You traveled through time, for crying out loud. Twice!"

Phineas persisted. "But, Isabella, there's nothing here for me to work with."

Then came what are arguably some of Isabella's most famous words.

"Well, that's not the Phineas Flynn I fell in... to this situation with."

As well as it perfectly summing up her love life (and never-ending crush on Phineas, who still didn't take the remarkably obvious hint), those words showed a remarkable display of faith from Isabella. It proved that she was convinced that Phineas could find a way off of the island before sunset.

If any one line better captures Isabella's character, it has yet to be said. Those words highlighted her best qualities. Her love for Phineas. Her determination. Her strong will. Her faith.

Ah, yes. Her faith. Isabella had no idea how to get off the island. She gave up. Or at least, she gave up on herself. But when Phineas wanted to give up, Isabella refused. Even though she had given up, she wouldn't let Phineas do the same. Because when she gave up, she believed - no, she knew that Phineas would find a way off of the island. She didn't know what the way was. She didn't know where the staircase led. But she took the first step anyways. She refused to allow Phineas to give up.

And you know what? That faith got Isabella her bike back. I'd say she has faith in Phineas. After all, when has the redhead well and truly let her down? Has Phineas ever not come through in the end? Sure, he has an uncanny ability to misinterpret, misunderstand, or mishear the word love, or any word that means anything remotely close to it. But has he ever well and truly let Isabella down?

No. He hasn't. So Isabella will continue to take the first step. Even when she can't see the whole staircase.

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**You know, I also haven't been getting many requests, either. Come on, you readers must have a favorite quote of some kind! Maybe a motto, or something you heard somewhere. Really, what's your favorite thing someone said? Or something that you'd like to see applied to Phineas and Ferb? Just let me know what it is. Seriously, please request. Along with reading and reviewing.**


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